Electroformed nickel-chromium alloy

ABSTRACT

Various implementations described herein are directed to a method of performing a land seismic survey operation. The method may include receiving a first information from a central recording system by a computer system on a seismic truck. The first information describes time and locations of seismic shots being performed in the seismic survey operation. The method may include using a set of rules and the first information to determine a start time for a seismic shot at a next shot location. The method may also include transmitting a second information that describes the next shot location and the start time to the central recording system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/911,900, filed Dec. 4, 2013, and U.S.application Ser. No. 14/559,768, filed Dec. 3, 2014, both of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Discussion of the Related Art

This section is intended to provide background information to facilitatea better understanding of various technologies described herein. As thesection's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That suchart is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related artmay or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that thestatements in this section are to be read in this light, and not asadmissions of prior art.

Seismic exploration involves surveying subterranean geologicalformations for hydrocarbon deposits. A survey typically involvesdeploying seismic sources and seismic sensors at predeterminedlocations. The sources generate seismic waves, which propagate into thegeological formations creating pressure changes and vibrations alongtheir way. Changes in elastic properties of the geological formationscatter the seismic waves, changing their direction of propagation andother properties. Part of the energy emitted by the sources reaches theseismic sensors. Some seismic sensors are sensitive to pressure changes(hydrophones) and others are sensitive to particle motion (e.g.,geophones). Industrial surveys may deploy only one type of sensors orboth. In response to the detected seismic events, the sensors generateelectrical signals to produce seismic data. Analysis of the seismic datacan then indicate the presence or absence of probable locations ofhydrocarbon deposits.

One type of seismic source is a seismic vibrator, which is used inconnection with a “vibroseis” survey. For a seismic survey that isconducted on dry land, the seismic vibrator imparts a seismic signalinto the earth. Typically, the seismic vibrator is part of a seismictruck. The seismic truck stops at various locations and generatesseismic waves, referred to as performing a shot, at each location.

SUMMARY

Described herein are implementations of various technologies for amethod for performing a land seismic survey operation. The method mayinclude receiving a first information from a central recording system bya computer system on a seismic truck. The first information describestimes and locations of seismic shots being performed in the seismicsurvey operation. The method may include using a set of rules and thefirst information to determine a start time for a seismic shot at a nextlocation. The method may also include transmitting a second informationthat describes the next shot location and the start time to the centralrecording system.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for amethod for performing a land seismic survey operation. The method mayinclude receiving a plurality of information from a plurality of seismictrucks that describe times and locations of seismic shots beingperformed by the plurality of seismic trucks. The method may includeusing a set of rules and the plurality of information to determine astart time at a next shot location. The start time is determined using acomputer system on a seismic truck. The method may also includetransmitting a description of the next shot location and start time fromthe seismic truck to the plurality of seismic trucks.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for aseismic truck having a computer system. The computer system includes oneor more processors and memory. The memory has a plurality of executableinstructions. When the executable instructions are executed by theprocessor, the processor may receive transmissions describing times andlocations of seismic shots performed by other seismic trucks as part ofa seismic survey operation. The processor may analyze the times andlocations of seismic shots performed by other seismic trucks using a setof rules to determine a start time for a seismic shot at a next shotlocation. The processor may also transmit a description of the next shotlocation and start time.

The above referenced summary section is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the detailed description section. The summary is not intendedto identify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limitedto implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of various technologies will hereafter be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood,however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only the variousimplementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope ofvarious technologies described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a vibroseis seismic survey truck in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for performing a seismic survey inaccordance with implementations of various techniques described herein.

FIG. 3A illustrates a graph of shot times with centralized decisionmaking in connection with implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 3B illustrates a graph of shot times with source decision making inaccordance with implementations of various techniques described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a computing system in whichthe various technologies described herein may be incorporated andpracticed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various implementations described herein will now be described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 1 illustrates a vibroseis seismic survey truck in accordance withvarious implementations described herein. In the illustrated system, aseismic vibrator 100 includes a vibrating element 110, a baseplate 120and a signal measuring apparatus 130, which may be for example, aplurality of accelerometers whose signals are combined to measure theactual ground-force signal applied to the earth by the seismic vibrator.The seismic vibrator 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be constructed on atruck 170 that provides for maneuverability of the system. Asillustrated, the vibrating element 110 may be coupled with the baseplate120 to provide for the transmission of vibrations from the vibratingelement 110 to the baseplate 120. The baseplate 120 may be positioned incontact with an earth surface 160 and the vibrations of the vibratingelement 110 may be communicated into the earth surface 160.

The seismic signal that is generated by the vibrating element 110 andemitted into the earth, via the baseplate 120, may be reflected off theinterface between subsurface impedances Im₁ and Im₂ at points I₁, I₂,I₃, and I₄. This reflected signal may be detected by geophones D₁, D₂,D₃, and D₄, respectively. The signals generated by the vibrating element110 on the truck 100 may also be transmitted to a data storage 140 forcombination with raw seismic data received from geophones D₁, D₂, D₃,and D₄ to provide for processing of the raw seismic data. In operation,a control signal, referred to also as pilot sweep, causes the vibratingelement 110 to exert a variable pressure on the baseplate 120.

During a seismic survey, the truck 170 travels to a series of setlocations, and then stops at the individual locations to perform a shotat a start time. Traditionally, in order to receive a start time, aradio system on the truck 170 transmits a ‘ready tone’ to a centralrecording system, also known as an acquisition system, when the truck170 is ready to perform a shot. In one implementation, the centralrecording system is located on a recording truck. The central recordingsystem then transmits a start time to the truck 170, or a start signalindicating that the truck 170 should start, and the truck 170 performs ashot at the start time or upon receiving the start signal. For variousreasons, further described in FIGS. 3A and 3B, this call and responsemethod of determining a start time may lead to inefficiencies.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for performing a seismic survey inaccordance with implementations of various techniques described herein.In one implementation, method 200 may be performed by a computer system400. It should be understood that while method 200 indicates aparticular order of execution of operations, in some implementations,certain portions of the operations might be executed simultaneously, ina different order, or on different systems. For example, block 210 maybe performed simultaneously with blocks 220-250. Further, in someimplementations, additional operations or steps may be added to themethod 200. Likewise, some operations or steps may be omitted.

At block 210, a seismic truck that is part of a seismic survey operationreceives a description of the start times and location of shotsperformed by other seismic trucks that are also part of the seismicsurvey operation. The seismic truck may also receive source numbers thatcorrespond to the shots. The time, location and source number may bereceived in an encrypted or encoded form. The description of the timeand location of a shot may be received prior to, during, or after theshot. The location may be a location measured by a Global PositioningSystem (GPS), or may be a source point location. A source point locationis a location that is set when planning a seismic survey.

In one implementation, the location and start time may be transmitted toa plurality of other seismic trucks. In a second implementation, thelocation and start time may be transmitted to a central recordingsystem, and the central recording system may then transmit the locationand start time to other seismic trucks that are part of the seismicsurvey operation. The result of block 210 is that the trucks that arepart of the seismic survey operation know the location and shot time ofthe seismic shots being performed as part of the seismic survey. In oneimplementation, a truck may only receive records of shots that occurwithin a set distance of that truck.

Block 210 may be performed repeatedly throughout a seismic survey. Forexample, a seismic truck may receive data from other seismic trucks oneor more times while performing blocks 220-250. In one implementation,the data received at block 210 may be stored in a database. For example,the data received at block 210 may be stored in a database on a computersystem located on the seismic truck.

At block 220, a seismic truck performing method 200 arrives at a shotlocation. The shot location may be a set or predetermined location in aseismic survey plan. The arrival may be determined using a GPS device.

At block 230, the seismic truck uses rules to calculate a start time forperforming a seismic shot. The rules may be specific to a seismicsurvey. The rules may describe the amount of time required betweenseismic shots, which may be based on distance between shot locations.For example, the rules may state that 7 seconds are to elapse betweenshots that are 1000 meters or less distance apart, that 3 seconds are toelapse between shots that are between 1000 and 3000 meters apart, andthat 1 second is to elapse between shots that are greater than 3000meters apart.

The rules may be based on the rate at which seismic signals dissipatewithin the earth. The amount of time between shots may be calculatedbased on a selected data quality. For example, if the time between shotsis greater, then noise in the measured response may be reduced and thequality of the measured data will improve.

At block 240, the start time calculated at block 230 and location of theshot are transmitted to a central recording system, other seismictrucks, or both. The start time and location may be transmitted using aradio. The start time and location may be transmitted in an encrypted orencoded format. In addition to the start time and location, a sourcenumber may be transmitted to the central recording system. The sourcenumber may identify the seismic truck that is transmitting the starttime and location.

At block 250, the seismic truck may perform a seismic shot at thelocation and start time transmitted at block 240. In one implementation,block 240 is performed prior to block 250. In another implementation,block 240 and block 250 are performed simultaneously. In yet anotherimplementation, block 240 is performed after block 250.

After performing the seismic shot at block 250, the seismic truck maymove to another shot location, and repeat block 220 through 250.Throughout this process, the seismic truck may simultaneously beperforming block 210.

FIG. 3A illustrates a graph 310 of shot times with centralized decisionmaking in connection with implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein. In graph 310, a central recording system transmits astart time to seismic sources 330 and 340 after receiving a ‘ready tone’360. A first seismic shot 330 is performed at a time of zero seconds andat a location of zero meters. The location and start time of the firstshot are recorded by the central recording system. The area 350represents the rules for the seismic survey being performed in graph310. That is, after the first shot 330, in order to follow the rules,any subsequent seismic shot is to be performed outside of the area 350.In graph 310, the rules specifically indicate that any subsequent shotwithin 1000 meters of the first shot 330 should be performed after 10seconds has elapsed following the first shot 330. The rules also statethat any subsequent shot that is greater than 1000 meters and less than2000 meters from the first shot 330 may be performed after 8 seconds haselapsed following the first shot 330. Thus, as can be seen in thefigure, a second shot 340 at a distance of approximately 950 meters maybe performed at any time after 10 seconds has elapsed following thefirst shot 330.

After the first shot 330 has been performed, a seismic truck ready toperform a second shot at a distance of 950 meters from the location ofthe first shot transmits a ‘ready tone’ 360 to a central recordingsystem. It should be noted that although the ‘ready tone’ is illustratedas having a location on the graph 310, the ‘ready tone’ is a signaltransmitted by a truck at that location. The central recording systemexamines the prior shot data and the rules to determine a start time forthe second shot 340. The central recording system then transmits a starttime for a second shot 340 of 14 seconds. Then, the second shot 340 isperformed. Although the second shot could be performed at a time of 10seconds, the transmission time and processing time in thisimplementation results in a delay, thus causing the second shot to beperformed at a time of 14 seconds. Thus, there is 4 seconds ofinefficiency in this example.

FIG. 3B illustrates a graph 320 of shot times with source decisionmaking in accordance with implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein. In graph 320, the seismic trucks use method 200 todetermine a start time. In this figure, rather than a central recordingsystem determining start times, computer systems on the individualtrucks determine the start times. In graph 320, the second shot 340 isperformed at or near 10 seconds later than the first shot 330. As can beseen, without the delay inherent in transmitting a ‘ready tone’ to acentral recording system and receiving a start time from the centralrecording system, the second shot 340 is performed with less delay thanin graph 310.

COMPUTING SYSTEM

Implementations of various technologies described herein may beoperational with numerous general purpose or special purpose computingsystem environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the various technologies described herein include, but are notlimited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptopdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers,mainframe computers, cloud computing systems, virtual computers, and thelike.

The various technologies described herein may be implemented in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Further, each program module may be implemented in its own way,and all need not be implemented the same way. While program modules mayall execute on a single computing system, it should be appreciated that,in some implementations, program modules may be implemented on separatecomputing systems or devices adapted to communicate with one another. Aprogram module may also be some combination of hardware and softwarewhere particular tasks performed by the program module may be doneeither through hardware, software, or both.

The various technologies described herein may also be implemented indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network,e.g., by hardwired links, wireless links, or combinations thereof. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

FIG. 4 illustrates a computer system 400 into which implementations ofvarious technologies and techniques described herein may be implemented.Computing system 400 may be a conventional desktop, a handheld device, awearable device, a controller, a server computer, an electronicdevice/instrument, a laptop, or a tablet. It should be noted, however,that other computer system configurations may be used.

The computing system 400 may include a central processing unit (CPU)430, a system memory 426 and a system bus 428 that couples varioussystem components including the system memory 426 to the CPU 430.Although only one CPU 430 is illustrated in FIG. 4, it should beunderstood that in some implementations the computing system 400 mayinclude more than one CPU 430.

The CPU 430 can include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, aprocessor, a programmable integrated circuit, or a combination thereof.The CPU 430 can comprise an off-the-shelf processor such as a ReducedInstruction Set Computer (RISC), including an Advanced RISC Machine(ARM) processor, or a Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages(MIPS) processor, or a combination thereof. The CPU 430 may also includea proprietary processor. The CPU may include a multi-core processor.

The CPU 430 may provide output data to a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)431. The GPU 431 may generate graphical user interfaces that present theoutput data. The GPU 431 may also provide objects, such as menus, in thegraphical user interface. A user may provide inputs by interacting withthe objects. The GPU 431 may receive the inputs from interaction withthe objects and provide the inputs to the CPU 430. In oneimplementation, the CPU 430 may perform the tasks of the GPU 431. Avideo adapter 432 may be provided to convert graphical data into signalsfor a monitor 434. The monitor 434 includes a screen 405. The screen 405can be sensitive to heat or touching (now collectively referred to as a“touch screen”). In one implementation, the computer system 400 may notinclude a monitor 434.

The GPU 431 may be a microprocessor specifically designed to manipulateand implement computer graphics. The CPU 430 may offload work to the GPU431. The GPU 431 may have its own graphics memory, and/or may haveaccess to a portion of the system memory 426. As with the CPU 430, theGPU 431 may include one or more processing units, and each processingunit may include one or more cores.

The system bus 428 may be any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such architectures include IndustryStandard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus,Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known asMezzanine bus. The system memory 426 may include a read only memory(ROM) 412 and a random access memory (RAM) 416. A basic input/outputsystem (BIOS) 414, containing the basic routines that help transferinformation between elements within the computing system 400, such asduring start-up, may be stored in the ROM 412. The computing system maybe implemented using a printed circuit board containing variouscomponents including processing units, data storage memory, andconnectors.

The computing system 400 may further include a hard disk drive 436 forreading from and writing to a hard disk 450, a memory card reader 452for reading from and writing to a removable memory card 456 and anoptical disk drive 454 for reading from and writing to a removableoptical disk 458, such as a CD ROM, DVD ROM or other optical media. Thehard disk drive 450, the memory card reader 452 and the optical diskdrive 454 may be connected to the system bus 428 by a hard disk driveinterface 436, a memory card interface 438 and an optical driveinterface 440, respectively. The drives and their associatedcomputer-readable media may provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the computing system 400.

Although the computing system 400 is described herein as having a harddisk 450, a removable memory card 456 and a removable optical disk 458,it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the computingsystem 400 may also include other types of computer-readable media thatmay be accessed by a computer. For example, such computer-readable mediamay include computer storage media and communication media. Computerstorage media may include volatile and non-volatile, and removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media may furtherinclude RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other solid state memory technology, including a Solid StateDisk (SSD), CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by the computingsystem 400. Communication media may embody computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and may include any information delivery media. By way ofexample, and not limitation, communication media may include wired mediasuch as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. The computingsystem 400 may also include a host adapter 433 that connects to astorage device 435 via a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, aFiber Channel bus, an eSATA bus, or using any other applicable computerbus interface. The computing system 400 can also be connected to arouter 464 to establish a wide area network (WAN) 466 with one or moreremote computers 474. The router 464 may be connected to the system bus428 via a network interface 444. The remote computers 474 can alsoinclude hard disks 472 that store application programs 470.

In another implementation, the computing system 400 may also connect toone or more remote computers 474 via local area network (LAN) 476 or theWAN 466. When using a LAN networking environment, the computing system400 may be connected to the LAN 476 through the network interface oradapter 444. The LAN 476 may be implemented via a wired connection or awireless connection. The LAN 476 may be implemented using Wi-Fitechnology, cellular technology, or any other implementation known tothose skilled in the art. The network interface 444 may also utilizeremote access technologies (e.g., Remote Access Service (RAS), VirtualPrivate Networking (VPN), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Layer 2 Tunneling(L2T), or any other suitable protocol). These remote access technologiesmay be implemented in connection with the remote computers 474. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary andother means of establishing a communications link between the computersystems may be used. The network interface 444 may also include digitalcellular networks, Bluetooth, or any other wireless network interface.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk 450, memorycard 456, optical disk 458, ROM 412 or RAM 416, including an operatingsystem 418, one or more application programs 420, program data 424 and adatabase system. The one or more application programs 420 may containprogram instructions configured to perform method 200 according tovarious implementations described herein. The operating system 418 maybe any suitable operating system that may control the operation of anetworked personal or server computer, such as Windows® XP, Mac OS® X,Unix-variants (e.g., Linux® and BSD®), Android®, iOS®, and the like.

A user may enter commands and information into the computing system 400through input devices such as a keyboard 462 and pointing device. Otherinput devices may include a microphone, joystick, satellite dish,scanner, user input button, or the like. These and other input devicesmay be connected to the CPU 430 through a USB interface 442 coupled tosystem bus 428, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as aparallel port, Bluetooth or a game port. A monitor 405 or other type ofdisplay device may also be connected to system bus 428 via an interface,such as a video adapter 432. In addition to the monitor 434, thecomputing system 400 may further include other peripheral output devicessuch as speakers and printers.

The detailed description is directed to certain specificimplementations. It is to be understood that the discussion above isonly for the purpose of enabling a person with ordinary skill in the artto make and use any subject matter defined now or later by the patent“claims” found in any issued patent herein.

It is specifically intended that the claimed invention not be limited tothe implementations and illustrations contained herein, but includemodified forms of those implementations including portions of theimplementations and combinations of elements of differentimplementations as come within the scope of the following claims. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Nothing in thisapplication is considered critical or essential to the claimed inventionunless explicitly indicated as being “critical” or “essential.”

Reference has been made in detail to various implementations, examplesof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and figures. Inthe detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thatthe present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuitsand networks have not been described in detail so as not tounnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first object or step could betermed a second object or step, and, similarly, a second object or stepcould be termed a first object or step, without departing from the scopeof the invention. The first object or step, and the second object orstep, are both objects or steps, respectively, but they are not to beconsidered the same object or step.

The terminology used in the description of the present disclosure hereinis for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and isnot intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used in thedescription of the present disclosure and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willalso be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context. As used herein, theterms “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “upwardly” and “downwardly”;“below” and “above”; and other similar terms indicating relativepositions above or below a given point or element may be used inconnection with some implementations of various technologies describedherein.

While the foregoing is directed to implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein, other and further implementations may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope thereof, which may be determinedby the claims that follow. Although the subject matter has beendescribed in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matterdefined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific featuresand acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementingthe claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing a land seismic surveyoperation, comprising: receiving a first information from a centralrecording system by a computer system on a seismic truck, wherein thefirst information describes times and locations of seismic shots beingperformed in the seismic survey operation; using a set of rules and thefirst information to determine a start time for a seismic shot at a nextshot location; and transmitting a second information that describes thenext shot location and the start time to the central recording system.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the seismic truck togenerate seismic signals at the start time and next shot location. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the start time and next shot location aredetermined by the computer system located on the seismic truck.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second information further comprises asource number.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the next shot locationis selected by a user on the seismic truck.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the next shot location is determined using a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) device on the seismic truck.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the next shot location is in the form of a source pointdescribed in a plan for the seismic survey operation or in the form of alatitude and longitude coordinate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst information from the central recording system is in an encodedformat.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of rules describes alength of time between seismic shots.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe length of time is based on a distance between shot locations. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the second information is transmittedusing a radio.
 12. A method for performing a land seismic surveyoperation, comprising: receiving a plurality of information from aplurality of seismic trucks that describe times and locations of seismicshots being performed by the plurality of seismic trucks; using a set ofrules and the plurality of information to determine a start time at anext shot location, wherein the start time is determined using acomputer system on a seismic truck; and transmitting a description ofthe next shot location and start time from the seismic truck to theplurality of seismic trucks.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the setof rules describe an amount of time between seismic shots.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising using the seismic truck togenerate seismic signals at the start time and next shot location.
 15. Aseismic truck having a computer system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory having a plurality of executable instructionswhich, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one ormore processors to: receive transmissions describing times and locationsof seismic shots performed by other seismic trucks as part of a seismicsurvey operation; analyze the times and locations of seismic shotsperformed by other seismic trucks using a set of rules to determine astart time for a seismic shot at a next shot location; and transmit adescription of the next shot location and start time.
 16. The seismictruck of claim 15, wherein the next shot location is determined using aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device on the seismic truck.
 17. Theseismic truck of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions furthercause the processor to store records of the times and locations ofseismic shots performed by other seismic trucks as part of the seismicsurvey operation in a database.
 18. The seismic truck of claim 15,wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to causea seismic vibrator on the seismic truck to generate seismic signals atthe next shot location beginning at the start time
 19. The seismic truckof claim 15, wherein the executable instructions that cause theprocessor to transmit the description of the next shot location andstart time comprise executable instructions that cause the processor to:encrypt the description of the next shot location and start time; andcause a radio to transmit the encrypted description of the next shotlocation and start time.
 20. The seismic truck of claim 15, wherein theexecutable instructions that cause the processor to receive thetransmissions describing the times and locations of seismic shotsperformed by other seismic trucks comprise executable instructions thatcause the processor to receive the transmissions directly from the otherseismic trucks or from a central recording system.